Chapter 76 — Grim

From Grim’s perspective, Isla arrives at a lavish banquet in a striking gown, and Grim’s unwanted fixation on her clashes with the reality that she remains Cronan’s captive—and enemy. Isla teases Grim about inevitability, unsettling him as he senses her amusement.

At the galaxy room, Cronan rearranges seating and announces a special guest: Lark Crown, seemingly healed and brimming with power. Cronan claims she is the source of his regenerative ability, asserting she still loves him despite her palpable rage. The gathered planet rulers watch with fearful curiosity.

Cronan challenges Lark to a duel with the promise of freedom. Lark unleashes devastating nature magic—vines, then accelerated-growth seeds—momentarily bursting Cronan apart with a tree. Hope ripples through the room, but Cronan’s body reassembles perfectly, revealing his superior regeneration.

Abandoning the pretense of sport, Cronan shreds Lark into pieces, then reduces her to drifting ash before allowing her to slowly reform, broken and incomplete. He collects her dust and demonstrates his own limb regeneration, attributing it to Lark’s enduring love. Grim notes Isla’s rising panic; his shadows instinctively shield Isla during the chaos, betraying his protective feelings.

With the rulers applauding, Cronan mocks love as a curse that leads only to ruin, using Lark’s inescapable devotion as proof of his immortality. He closes the spectacle by inviting dinner, having publicly humiliated Lark and cemented his dominance while deepening Grim’s conflicted attachment to Isla.